Lantern Court

Over the last three and a half weeks I have been working at Lantern Court in the Holden Arboretum. Lantern court is an extension of the arboretum that includes a mansion and several gardens. During this time I worked with Julia, the horticulturist in charge of Lantern Court. This week I weeded in several flower beds. The most difficult part of weeding is making sure that you get the entire root system out, otherwise it will grow back in a short amount of time. After that I cut back some flower bulbs that were finished blooming. This cleaned up the beds and made the flowers go dormant so they did not die before blooming again. I weed-whacked around the edge of the beds, then put mulch down to finish it off. When mulching, it is best to put down a layer an inch or two thick, and it is important that the mulch does not come up against the base or cover any part of the plants. This will cause the plant rot away and can eventually kill it. The next day we planted lavender and shasta daisies in the sundial beds. When planting small things such as these, you need to dig a hole that is slightly larger than the pot that the plant is in. After you put the plant in the hole, you fill in any spaces with the soil you dug up, and pack it loosely but firmly. Any excess soil can be distributed around the bed until it looks neat and even.